The study aims to answer the following questions: (1) What emotions do mothers show in their preschoolers' presence? (2) What are their children's reactions to these emotional displays? (3) How do mothers cope with these feelings? (4) How do mothers evaluate these incidents? (5) Do mothers' methods of coping predict children's adjustment? Twenty children between the ages of 31 and 54 months and their mothers participated in this study. Children's social-emotional competence was assessed by way of a puppet task, classroom observations, teacher ratings, and sociometric techniques. Mothers' emotional displays with their children present and methods of coping were assessed by a diary technique and a semi-structured interview. Results indicated that mothers' frequency of happiness, lower frequency of anger and tension, and explanation of negative emotions were related to social-emotional competence variables of their children. Mothers' apologies for displaying negative emotions were more complex in their relation to social-emotional competence. Mothers who reported that anger could be beneficial had children who exhibited deficiencies in social-emotional competence. Further research should focus on the effects of mothers' discrete emotions on young children's expression of, understanding of, and reaction to emotions. (Author/BN)